


It's Just Us

by WhelmedAsterMaster (charlion_em)



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Robin Pile, hurt jason, new and old relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 06:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11143155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlion_em/pseuds/WhelmedAsterMaster
Summary: Damian snitches on Jason, leading to an unexpected conversation with Tim.





	It's Just Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SublimeDiscordance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SublimeDiscordance/gifts).



> This is the first OT4 I've written, a huge thank you to Suime for guidance. 
> 
> First of the fic givaways from tumblr

The safe house was nestled in a decent neighborhood on the north side of Gotham. If it really was a safe house. When Jason first gave him the address, Damian had raised a skeptical eyebrow. And now, standing in the entrance, he was more convinced this wasn't a ‘ _safe_ house’ and more like just a ' _house_ '. The nicely manicured park across the street from the condo was a dead give away. Never mind the _doorman_  and his concern over the bruises Jason’s hoodie didn't quite hide.

The door clicked behind him as Jason kicked it shut. Right inside the entrance was a round slate floor which opened to a fairly wide staircase with plush carpet. It screamed money.

“Shoes.” Jason said from behind him. He kicked his own shoes onto the ornate shoe bin, gesturing for Damian to do the same.

Damian rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes before heading up the stairs. The scent of lilac wafted from upstairs. Definitely not a safe house.

“I swear, Todd. This better not be Drake’s place.” He mentally kicked himself for not keeping better tabs on Tim the last few months. It was more likely to be Tim’s place than Jason’s. And Dick still had his apartment in Bludhaven.

Jason followed him up the stairs. “He won't be home today. And kid, if you want my help with your pet projects again you won't say a word to him or Dick about today.”

“Tell me what?” Tim’s voice dripped with mockery. His head appeared over the half wall at the top of the stairs.

Behind him, Jason swore. Damian looked up to the right, scowling at Tim’s smug grin. His arms crossed over the wall as he waited for Damian and Jason get to the main floor. With a flick of his wrist, he righted the book in his hand and continued to read. Damian resisted the urge to throw a batarang at ~~his smug face~~ the book.

Damian took the rest of the stairs two at a time, turning on Tim as soon as he reached the top. “Medical kit.”

Tim’s smug grin faded into a frown at the request. He looked over to Jason, taking in his bruises as he made his way past them and straight to the kitchen. “What happened?”

“Medical. Kit.” Damian stared hard at Tim.

“I got it, kid,” Jason called from the kitchen.

Tim pushed past him, jogging to the kitchen.

“For the last time, I'm not a kid,” Damian yelled in Jason’s general direction. At 20 years old, he was far from a child. Yet they all insisted on calling him ‘kid’ to get under his skin. Even Jon got in on the ‘joke’.

Damian looked around as he walked to the kitchen. There was a sitting area at the top of the stairs, Tim’s book was haphazardly tossed to the small table. The living room showcased the latest in television technology and a couch covered in so many clothes and computer parts he could barely make out the blue fabric.

The kitchen was more a shrine to the large coffee machine on the counter. Some smaller devices lined the counter behind it, and even if Damian didn't recognize them he knew they all had something to do with coffee - it wasn’t like Tim would have anything related to _cooking_ _food_. Though, Jason could have brought some if he and Tim were…

Damian shook his head. It wasn’t his business what Tim did with his life.

He passed the kitchen and turned into the dining room. The whole layout was open, and he had to bite back a comment about the unnecessary archways- they were not even ornate, just lazy. Who designed this place anyway? Drake had terrible taste in architecture.

Jason was sprawled out in an uncomfortable looking wood chair in the attached dining room. His arm was stretched on the table in front of Tim, his field bandages already removed.

Jason looked over the back of his chair as Damian entered, a smirk plastered over his uncovered face. “Sorry, kid. You're the youngest - it's just habit.”

Damian kicked out a chair for himself, pointedly ignoring Tim’s chuckle. “Fuck you, Todd.”

“Aww, is that the thanks I get for helping you rescue a bunch of dogs? Ow- Tim!”

Tim looked up with a blank expression. “You got _this_ beat up busting a puppy mill?”

“Jay! You said you wouldn't tell!”

“I didn’t… well, I may have mentioned it to Dick the other night.” He rubbed his chin with his other hand.

“Mentioned what to me?” Dick sauntered past the table with a towel wrapped around his head and wearing a bathrobe with, Damian suspected, nothing underneath.

Damian bit his tongue, though Dick’s presence raised so many questions. He quickly returned with a glass of water and took the chair next to Tim.

“Damian’s puppy mill bust.” Tim dabbed at a cut on Jason’s bicep. “Which somehow resulted in him arriving back in this state.”

“Hey, the kid needed help.”

Oh, hell no. Damian snorted and leaned forward. “Guess we shouldn't tell them about your cracked ribs I already wrapped.”

Dick reacted first, standing and slamming his palms on the table. “Jason! We've talked about this! Why didn’t you-”

“I took care of it! It would have been fine if Damian had gathered better intel!” He turned to Damian, “You want to make this a thing? Fine. It’s a thing. I went to help with shutting down a puppy mill- But it wasn't their only criminal activity, was it? No- turns out they were shipping people too. Which meant an actual fight instead of what we expected.”

Jason stood, yanking his arm away from Tim. “And it isn't like either of you would have run out and helped, hm?”

“Jay!” Tim reached for his arm, but his hand was swatted away.

Jason grabbed his hoodie off the floor as he stormed towards the stairs.

Tim stood to go after him, but Dick put a hand on his shoulder. “I'll go. You stay, I'm sure Dami has some injuries that need tended to as well.”

Dick pulled the towel off his head, tossing it to the floor. As he ran from the room he slid the robe off, revealing he was, in fact, wearing shorts and a shirt underneath.

The door slammed shut, followed quickly by it opening and closing again.

Damian stared at his fist on the table. Last time he'd been alone with Tim, it hadn't gone well. For everything though, he knew he couldn’t just leave.

He pulled the kit over and removed his hoodie as well as his over shirt, leaving him in just his under tank. His injuries were similar to Jason’s, minus the rib injury. Superficial for the most part, but the cuts still needed cleaned to prevent infection.

“So,” He said as casually as he could muster, “I guess you will need to find a new place of residence now.”

“Why is that?”

“For one, because I now know where you live. And two, from the looks of it you slept with Dick. Who is dating Jason. Unless they broke up? And you are dating Connor so-”

“Con and I broke up months ago.”

Oh. Had it really been that long since he’d stopped paying attention?

“As far as Jay, Dick, and I go… it's complicated.”

Damian raised an eyebrow at that, but kept his focus on cleaning the dried blood out of the deeper cut on his arm.

“I owe you an apology.” Tim’s voice wavered a little.

Damian did look up at those words. Tim’s fingers tapped against the wood table for a moment before he looked up to meet Damian’s stare.

“You were right about Con. I shouldn't have treated you like that, you were just looking out for me.”

He shook his head, leave it to Tim to gloss over the rest of it. But, an apology was a start.

“Here, let me.” Tim circled around to sit next to him and took the cotton swab from his hand. “So, what happened today?”

Damian winced, “I wanted to go rescue the dogs at a puppy mill I discovered… someone came into the vet office I'm interning at and mentioned their concern. I checked it out, they were in terrible conditions, but the police were taking too long to follow up on all the complaints. We were going to sneak as many out as possible first- not like they watch the dogs or anything. We’d already made two drops to the local shelter. But…”

For a moment, Tim waited for him to continue. When the silence continued to drag on Tim prompted him to continue. “But?”

Damian studied the pattern of the table’s wood grain. “I've seen Jason lose it before, but not like this. We entered a caged room, expecting another injured animal but instead we found two girls, the oldest could have only been maybe 12.

“Instead of reassessing the warehouses and bringing more gear, Jason ran off towards where the main office was. By the time I secured the girls, Jason had most of the goons down. And by down, I mean probably dead. I helped with the remaining ones while he calmed down.

“By the time we freed the remaining people, the police arrived and we bolted.”

Tim sighed. “Shit.” He moved to Damian’s other side and began to work on that arm. “We try to keep Jay off those types of cases. He… he doesn't do well with them- he nearly killed someone for dealing near a group home.” He sighed, “Dick is good at calming him down. We just have to wait them out.”

“Leave me out of it. I'm leaving before I get sucked into your relationship drama.” He grabbed his shirt and hoodie.

Tim sighed. “Wait, let me clean up your face.” He dabbed a clean cloth into the water Dick left on the table.

Damian rolled his eyes, but let Tim wipe the cool fabric over his skin. He tried not to look at Tim, but he was so close- he could practically feel his breath.

“Father was starting to get used to Richard and Jason being a thing too.”

Tim’s hand stilled, “He knows?” Then he sighed, “Of course he knows. But how do you know he knows? Or even approves?”

Damian shrugged, focusing on the gentle way Tim cleaned around his bruises.

“Dami.”

“Don’t call me that.” Damian pulled his face away.

Tim threw the cloth to the table with a growl. “You just can't pretend to get along with me for a day, can you? It's just a stupid nickname- one you let Dick and Jason use!”

Damian blinked at Tim, his mind racing. He should just leave, ignore the pounding in his chest and let things simmer back down to their new normal. Run out the door like Jason had and forget everything about Tim.

Running last time only brought him right back to where he was. A risk was nothing to run from, and he was already living without Tim in his life. Nothing would change.

He squared his shoulders as Tim began to clean up the medical kit. “That's not- I don't hate you, if that's what you think.”

Smooth. He tried to moisten his mouth before continuing. “The reason I know Father is okay with Dick and Jason… is because I asked him several months ago if he would approve of me pursuing… someone. And he said Dick and Jason’s relationship had not interfered with the mission, so he would approve as long as my own relationship did not interfere either.”

Tim cocked his head. “If he approved, why are you not dating them?”

“You’re the detective. Figure it out.” He pulled his shirt on, ignoring Tim’s stare, and trying to ignore the implication that Tim didn’t think someone would turn him down.

With a hard click, Tim closed the medical kit and turned to lean against the table. He tossed his latex gloves into the trash pile and ran a hand along the top of the chair between them. “It wasn’t because he was in a one sided relationship and called you all sorts of names when you tried to warn him, was it?”

Damian shrugged. “It does not matter.” He flung his hoodie over his shoulder, “I should get going. There are still some leads I want to follow up on from today.”

“Dami, wait.” Tim pushed himself away from the table and around the chair before Damian took his second step. Then, they were close, in each other's space and the temperature of the condo raised by ten degrees.

Damian looked down into Tim’s eyes, waiting for his legs to listen to him and take him away. Far away. To escape the looming dread that he was about to cross a line.

Tim slowly raised a hand to Damian’s face, he had time to move away- to swat Tim’s hand down- but he continued to stare into Tim’s blue eyes. The touch itself was light, gentle, a level of softness he’d lost hope of Tim directing at him.

Before he had time to completely process the caress, Tim shifted to his tiptoes, his head leaning closer, slowly as with his hand. Damian’s eyes fluttered closed, but the brush of chapped lips against his own never came. Instead, Tim rested his forehead on his, which was nearly as intimate.

“You should stay and we should talk.” Tim’s thumb brushed against his cheek.

Damian’s eyes shot open and he stepped back. “Talk about what! You're with Dick.”

“And Jason.” Tim let his hand fall to his side. “The three of us.”

Damian blinked. “Oh. Then why was Jason angry when he found out Dick was here?”

Tim gently grabbed his arm and guided him to the couch. “That's not it.” He tossed some of the clothes - a mix of Dick’s and Jason’s - to the side so they could sit. “He knew we would have taken him off the case the moment he called us. Forcibly if needed. And handled it ourselves.”

“Oh. I will keep this in mind. If we run into something similar again I'll notify you or Dick as soon as possible.”

“Thank you.” Tim sighed and looked towards the stairs. “I hope Dick was able to calm him down.”

Damian glanced around the room and spotted a photo of the three laughing at what looked to be an amusement park. “I can go check. You should wait here in case they come back.”

A hand on his thigh stopped him. “Dami,” Tim sighed. “Jay was supposed to try to bring this up. But, seeing as how you don't hate me…”

Damian blinked. “Out with it Drake. Do not take my fondness for you as a weakness, I will still deny you if your request is absurd. And I will not be the one to inform my father of your relationship.”

Tim actually smiled at that, “Bruce probably already knows anyway.” His hand remained on Damian’s leg. “I've been fond, as you say, of you too. I guess Jason must have known about your feelings too, because he's the one who suggested dating you too. Even though I was certain you would decline.”

“‘Too?’” Damian shook his head, reading between the lines. “I can not manage a relationship with one person. How can I be with three?”

“We've talked about it, and we don't want you to be pressured or feel like you have to make a decision right now. I wasn’t sure either, at first, but now I'm in love with both Jason and Dick and I can't imagine life any other way.”

Damian swallowed. “I've never considered such a relationship before.”

Tim hummed. “That wasn't a no.”

He paused before adding, “You can just be with me. That is fine too. And if later you want to be with all of us, or two of us… or none of us, it is okay.”

“But. Dick and Jason? Do they like me like that? Enough to…” He shut his eyes, the idea of being intimate with them… emotionally… sexually. With Dick. And Jason. And Tim.

“Hey,” The hand on his leg squeezed gently. “They do, enough to give this a go. And so do I. More than just a passing fancy. But, the bigger question is if you like us -me- enough.”

It was a lot to process. Damian wanted- but he wasn’t sure what - _who_ \- he wanted. If he were to choose to be with only Tim, would he be okay with Tim also being with Jason and Dick? Sharing was not a skill which he’d mastered. For all his questions, something felt right. What that something _was_  would take some deliberation.

“So, what? We all just… date?” Damian imagined the awkward first date with all four of them, the stares… the-

“One at a time. That's how we did it at first...Jay and I would have a solo date, then again with Dick and I. And once a week we would all watch a movie together and snuggle on the couch. Or go out to the carnival or something. And now, it's just… us.” His eyes met Damian’s, “You don’t have to date us that way. It can just be you and I…”

It was a lot to process at once. There was a point where he'd liked Dick, and then Jason… it wouldn't be farfetched that he could rekindle those feelings. Now, he found himself seriously considering giving it a chance, but he still had so many questions. There would be so much he and Tim would need to discuss, mostly more apologies for previous behavior.

Before they could continue their conversation, the front door opened with a jingle. There was a shuffle of shoes being removed followed by the padding of feet on the stairs. Tim turned to look over the back of the couch, nodding a greeting when Jason and Dick appeared at the top of the stairs. Tim’s hand stayed on Damian’s leg.

Dick rounded the couch first and pushed more of the clutter down the couch before sitting next to Tim. “We should really clean up.” He leaned over to give Tim a peck on the cheek.

“We?” Jason asked as he entered with a beer. “I distinctly remember you being the one who couldn't wait until we got to the bedroom to start stripping last ni - oh, hey Dami.” He sat his can on the coffee table and eyed the couch.

Dick scooted away from Tim and patted the cushion. With some caution, Jason took the offered seat and immediately turned towards Damian on the other side of Tim. “Sorry I yelled at you.”

Damian blinked at him, not expecting any sort of apology until they were alone- if one ever even came.

Dick sighed and kicked at Jason’s foot.

“And,” Jason said while staring at a point past Damian, “I'm sorry I called you an arrogant prick.”

“You didn’t?”

“I did after I left.” Jason sighed and turned his focus to Tim, gently taking his hand into his. “I know you were just worried. I'm sorry for storming out.” Damian looked away as they leaned in for a kiss, feeling as if he were intruding on an intimate moment.

“Jay, I love you. Promise you'll be more careful. And call us if you get in over your head again.”

“I already promised Dick, and I l’m promising you right now.” He then leaned back against the couch and kicked his feet onto the coffee table, wincing at the way the movement pulled at his ribs.

Tim turned to Damian, silently asking if he wanted to continue their conversation. They were pressed close and Dick and Jason were so close too- it would be easy to lay across their laps and demand affection. Too easy. And he knew they would give it to him.

He abruptly stood, knowing what he would need to do. “I am heading home. I need an actual shower and I should check on the animals we dropped off at the shelters.” He took a step around the couch then paused, turning to look at the three men on the couch. “Barring any catastrophe, I am available Thursday afternoon. My last class ends at 2pm.”

Dick and Jason looked up, confused by Damian’s statement.

Tim blinked, his mouth moving without sound for a moment before he found his words. “For a date?”

“Yes, Sherlock.”

Dick’s smile grew, as did Jason’s. Jason nudged Tim’s shoulder with his.

“I- Early dinner?” Tim’s smile was shy.

Damian nodded. “Acceptable. Send me the details.” He turned to take another step, then turned back. “Maybe we could all watch a movie after?”

Dick’s face broke into a full smile, “I think we can arrange that.”

* * *

  
_6 months later_

Damian handed Dick the bowl of popcorn when he returned to the couch. He bit his tongue to prevent a snide remark about making a mess. This was their first date night at Damian’s condo and he wanted everything to go perfectly. He took stock that everyone had drinks before giving Dick a peck on the cheek and continuing down the couch.

He motioned at Jason, “Scoot over.” Damian sat on Jason’s lap before he finished moving.

“Ug, you're heavy for someone so short.” Jason was the only one taller than Damian, a fact he like to rub in Damian’s face. Despite his protest, strong arms snaked around his waist and held him firmly.

“Jerk.” He snuggled back into Jason’s chest.

Warm lips grazed the back of his neck. “Mmm, you know you love me.”

“Yea, yea.” Damian pushed off his lap, fully taking his seat between Jason and Tim. He took Tim’s offered hand, squeezing it as he reached for the remote. “Ready for the movie?”

Dick clicked off the lamp next to him, plunging the room into darkness. His arm wound around Jason’s shoulders and gently caressed Damian’s cheek before it settled on Jason. Tim shifted against his side, laying his head on his chest.

By the time the first scene was over, Tim was snoring softly into Damian’s shirt. He chanced a glance to Jason, finding him grinning down at Dick’s sleeping form. Jason’s hand found Damian’s and wove their fingers together. His fond smile turned to Damian and they both shrugged, silently agreeing their boyfriends deserved their impromptu nap.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
